Power & Utilities

Helping you master transformation in power and utilities

Those currently involved in the UK energy supply sector have to respond to the challenges of the energy trilemma – the need to define and bring about the right balance between environmental (particularly low carbon), security of supply and cost pressures.

At EY we can help you to respond to these challenges providing assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services that are tailored to your needs.

And we don’t just react to changing market conditions, we help shape them. We’ve analysed the issues to understand the impact they have on you and the way you do business.

Faced with ongoing policy pressure to reduce carbon emissions, the sector has an opportunity to reshape the generation mix completely over the next 30 years, through a mix of technologies. But aging infrastructure means major investment decisions must be taken today.

These will have implications across the value chain as networks respond to different demands from generators and suppliers.

Companies are considering how best to react to the introduction of low-carbon generation technologies, with a host of ongoing ‘make or buy’ questions.

Against the over-riding imperative of maintaining security of supply, key challenges include:

Deciding on the best generation mix for a particular market

Navigating policy regimes from country to country

Funding the acquisition or construction of low-carbon generation assets

Managing the risks of large-scale construction projects

Engaging with customers over the value of a low-carbon future.

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Power & utilities remains a hugely capital-intensive sector. The strategic allocation of available capital and access to new sources of finance will become increasingly important over the coming decade.

Since the global financial crisis, P&Us have come under pressure to strengthen balance sheets. This has led to significant divestment programs in Europe, and a new round of consolidation in North America.

Looking ahead, P&Us will have to raise and deploy capital on a huge scale, while engaging with a wide range of new finance providers and protecting credit ratings.

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The introduction of smart technology is an immediate challenge in terms of funding and making the right technology choices.

The focus of smart today varies.

In Europe and the US, improving consumers' responsiveness to price signals and enabling the connection of distributed renewable power to the network is key. Elsewhere, improving network resilience and allowing large-scale power transmission is often more important.

Either way, matching supply and demand will become increasingly complex.

Longer term, smart technology is likely to cause major disruptions to existing business models and P&Us cannot afford to view it as simply an infrastructure upgrade.

All significant business processes will be affected by smart technology. Major change programs may be needed to realize potential benefits and keep stakeholders engaged.

P&Us need to get ready for the reality of 'big data'. Smart roll-outs will result in huge increases in data, and winners will be on top of this, able to handle the increased risks that the data flood brings and use the data to extract added value.

Individual state regulations supporting customer rights, such as meter opt-out clauses, will affect how P&Us do business.

Smart grids will enable two-way energy flows, encouraging customers to play a new role in determining their energy consumption and putting new strain on existing network assets and mechanisms.

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